Changing the Mindset

The other day I went to Trader Joe's. Like many groceries, a sign outside announced limited hours. While flowers abounded, the normally well stocked shelves were pretty much bare. Smartly, Trader Joe’s limited the number of each item type one can buy to two to avoid hoarding. But there wasn’t much left to buy.

In produce, I was able to find salad, bananas, and one of the last bags of navel oranges. No toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and hand balm remained in the health and beauty aisle, and most of the hand soap was also gone. Of the baking products, where chocolate chips, flour, and sugar should have been the shelves were stripped. The only flour left was almond flour. At 7.98 a bag I figured I didn’t need to bake anything. I had eggs at home, so I didn’t buy one of the half dozen left in the case. I’d hoped to find Havarti cheese, which I did, but it was lite. Lite Havarti is better than no Havarti.

At a nearly empty freezer case I picked up the last bag of frozen corn. All the frozen fruit, broccoli, green beans, and mixed veggies were gone. Further down in the empty freezer case I looked to see if they had my favorite: bean taquitos. “They’re sold out of all my usual favorites,” I said aloud. A young man standing at a social distance from me said, “I guess this a good time to try something new.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.” I picked up one of the three remaining packages of Cheese enchiladas. I’d never noticed them before amid the normally overflowing freezer case. Other than the enchiladas having a high fat content, they’re tasty, and will make a good temporary substitute until they restock my bean taquitos.

Right now, with social isolation, we’re all trying something new, seeking ways to maintain connections while also social distancing. It’s a massive reboot of our personal systems. I’m cleaning our junk drawers and cabinets and dusting more often. Today I flipped my mattress, (something I’d been meaning to do for ages,) and reduced the stacks on my nightstand.

Lucky for us in Seattle, one of the hot spots for the virus, our weather is sunny this week. It’s still chilly, but it may be warm enough later for me to clean out my car. I need to keep moving in order to burn off the 38% fat content of the cheese enchilada I ate for lunch.

If you can't find what you want, try something new.

Happy Coping